We pride ourselves on our approachable account team that genuinely understands your business and in March we welcomed Phil Knowles as Commercial Manager, Wire Rod UK and Europe.
Phil brings with him a wealth of experience in the steel industry, having held various sales-related positions over the last 29 years. Wire Rod Matters sets out to investigate, interviewing our new Commercial Manager about his previous career roles and his ambitions for the future.
When asked how he was introduced to the industry, Phil replied: “I started my career in 1988 at my hometown in Workington, where I was responsible for selling engineering solutions to the nuclear industry.
“I further spent valuable time in both the Workington rail and Skinningrove special profiles businesses, before I transferred to Scunthorpe just after the company transitioned into Corus. As a result over my career I've held various sales and commercial manager roles for rail, sections, plate and special profiles, selling into sectors such as yellow goods, ship building, construction and energy. Later still, I held the role of Commercial Manager, Power Generation, for Tata Steel, which was a global, multi-product commercial role.
“In March 2015, I made the difficult decision to leave the business for an opportunity with a smaller independent service centre/processor to take up a new challenge and to test myself outside of the larger business environment.
“My goal was to gain a wealth of experience so I could truly make a difference to the customers I serve by having a broad knowledge of the opportunities and challenges of the steel industry.”
When questioned about his recent appointment as part of the new British Steel team, Phil commented: “I’m returning to British Steel to manage Wire Rod accounts in the UK and Europe. It was a very appealing opportunity to be part of the ongoing evolution of this fresh brand.
"Strong communication is at the heart of what we do and I'm looking forward to meeting our customers and developing an understanding of what is important to them so we can work together.”
In reference to the unique approach that he will bring to the company, Phil explained: “The time I spent within the smaller business environment gave me perspectives and approaches which I felt would be useful and beneficial within the new British Steel environment. It’s an exciting time to be part of this organisation.”
You can contact Phil at philip.knowles@britishsteel.co.uk or by telephone +44 (0)1724 381077 (mobile: +44 (0)7824 835997).